Monday, March 5, 2012

Aphrodite Failure

You are probably thinking why I called it failure because the photo I showed looks perfectly fine!

Well, the story started like this:
Last year I paid my very first visit to The Nova Studio in Richmond California when they held their annuversary  celebration.  As usual they had gathered numerous fabulous door prizes from various supply stores to give out.  I couldn't believe my luck (cuz I never win anything) but my name was drawn 3rd!  I was so excited as every one of us already eyed the prize we hope to get if we get lucky, and I did!  I quickly went up to the prize display tables and picked up my new won mold donated by Soap Equipment, here's a photos of the triple loaf mold:

Some soapers in the event claim that it really is no lining needed.  Oh I like that!  I meant to try this mold out sooner but never get the chance to last year.  It then had been sitting in my basement for months until couple weeks ago.  The loaf mold I use the most is the small 2 lb silicone mold that makes bar soap measuring 3.5"(wide)X2.5"(high)X1"(thick).  This mold is very different from my usual size, the wide of each loaf cavity is 2", the height (or depth) of the mold is 3.25".  In order to get about the same weight as my usual bar, I have to cut the soap each at 1.25" if I top off the mold.  You know what?  I really like this new size!  I think this is better fitting with people who have small hands, usually that's the women.

Anyway, let's get to the soap part!  Besides using the mold the very first time, I was also trying out a new recipe, one with lots of beef tallow.  This will be my very first time using a significant amount of animal fat in my soap.  In my mind I already had a name for this batch: Aphrodite.  It's very feminine but more towards the perfume style of scenting, very upscale and a little classic.  There's a lot of perfume rose, accompanied by lavender, violet, sweet tuberose, and chamomile, then anchored by warm wood and musk.  I thought it would accelerate the trace since it's a heavy floral, but it is still manageable since I wasn't planning on doing any fancy swirling.

Then 2 days later, it literally got stuck in the mold and refuse to come out!  I disassembled the nuts and bots and I just could not remove the HDPE boards away from the log of soap!  I tried pliers, hammer, and knife...  Oh don't forget my husband too, yes I tried using him.  Finally the 3rd day I plied the panels out of the log and spent hours troweling the soap from the panels back to where it belongs...  Look at the sides... yikes...

But the inside is not bad at all!  I actually like it!  And the scent is so Aphrodite!

Lesson learned, ALWAYS line your mold! 




14 comments:

  1. They do look great! If you had a planer, you could take those uneven edges off. That is if they bother you. I think they give the soap character!

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  2. Such a beautiful soap for such a rocky start!

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  3. Soap with interest, I would say! The shape is very nice! Makes you wonder how people are getting away with not lining that mold. Different recipe, perhaps? Or maybe it just needs to be broken in. I had trouble like that with my big slab mold (not from BB). The soap didn't want to come off the dividers, so I never used it again!

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  4. Thay are so very amazing, too bad so much trouble to get to the good parst. But like the others say, what always looks messy to us never seems to bother our customers. We soapers...always too hard on ourselves

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  5. Hahaha don't we just live and learn the hard way! Me too. I think Donna is right about being too hard on ourselves, but we do strive for perfection! Today I used saran wrap in a wood mold. Worked really well. Somehow though I love peeling paper off a log of soap! Nice Mold Emily, I can hardly wait to see all three logs full at the same time!

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  6. PS I love the pic's I see in these soaps. Beautiful placement of color and artfully re arranged. I can see a woman sitting that looks like a painting sold in Hawaii, colors position all of it!

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    1. Now that you said it, I do see a woman in my soap! LOL

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  7. Has anyone tried silicone spray on that kind of mold? They are quite beautiful soaps!

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    1. Silicone spray? I have not heard of it, what is it? Do I use it once or every time I make a new batch of soap?

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    2. Emily,
      Silicone spray is a release agent that can be found at any hardware store. I would use a light coat each time. I think it would work better than lining when using a non-wood mold.

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    3. Interesting, now does it get washed off easily? Would it react with soap batter and get embedded into the sides? I'm not sure if I want to introduce a silicone material into the natural soap.

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  9. I have a large hdpe mold from Soaphutch with 7 dividers for individual logs. I've had the same problem getting the dividers off. I've tried mineral oil, the silicone spray and wiping the dividers down with petroleum jelly. Only the petroleum jelly worked for releasing the dividers. They still don't fall off but with effort they do move. Love using the mold as a block without the dividers. It is no problem to remove the sides. Just seems like the dividers stick.

    PS. Your soap is eye candy and I have enjoyed browsing.

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  10. Just fell over your blog and found this post - I have the same mold (only the larger one with four cavities) and had exactly the same trouble! Since then I'm lining this mold always with baking paper and it works perfectly.

    Your Aphrodite looks much better than my first soap came out of the mold and I really like the colours!

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